Yes, that would indeed be a different scenario.

Why? Can one not be passionate about accounting?

There's a slight difference between striving to save lives and striving to maximize profits for shareholders.

How many lives were saved by going into the lab on their wedding night, as opposed to the next day?

If an accountant works for Pfizer, aren't they indirectly involved in saving lives too?

I'm not even criticizing the fact that they went into the lab on their wedding night. I'm criticizing how unhealthy behavior that may be called out in other contexts is viewed as not only healthy behavior but commendable behavior if the reader has positive associations with the specific acts of unhealthy behavior.

You have a point but for some people, the sacrifice might be better justified when done with a "higher" goal in mind, like making a scientific breakthrough. That goal might make things that people usually see as important, seem unimportant.

Of course, what justifies the sacrifice is a matter of perspective.

Profits represent investible assets that enable people like this to create startups. Without profits, and the possibility of getting them, this type of research stops.